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MYCOLOGY

Utah Valley University - BIOL1620

This course section is entirely online. All assignments, quizzes, and exams will be turned in and taken on Canvas. My preferred contact method is our group Slack channel.

Course overview:

The course consists of several components:

  • Required readings
    • Textbook: Webster and Weber, Introduction to Fungi - 3rd ed. (specific sections)
    • Scientific papers: Usually weekly, linked below
    • Fun book: Mr. Bloomfield’s Orchard, by Nicholas Money
  • Weekly quizzes on reading material (on Canvas)
  • Assorted “home mycology” lab, research, and field exercises (on Canvas)
  • Exams (3 of these, on Canvas, open-note)

The course is broken into 4 rough sections:

  1. Getting to know fungal biology and major groups (get ready for a bunch of terminology)
  2. Fungi as the enemy (human and plant pathogens, fungal distribution, secondary compounds)
  3. Fungi as a friend (mutualistic symbioses)
  4. Molecular mycology (intro to modern methods and fungal bioinformatics)

Course Syllabus

Course Text Book

Good web resources:

21st Century Guidebook to Fungi (This is pretty useful for this class!) Full download link for older edition (zipped).

“The Fifth Kingdom” website

Cornell’s Virtual Fungal Library (Extensive links to resources!)

Fungal Gene Database (Exactly what it sounds like.)

Emerging fungal diseases CDC resource page for those with a medical bent

Nice YouTube Channel with videos featuring do-it-at-home mycology

Table of Contents

Week 1 | Week 5 | Week 9 | Week 13

Week 2 | Week 6 | Week 10 | Week 14

Week 3 | Week 7 | Week 11 | Week 15

Week 4 | Week 8 | Week 12 | Week 16

Week 1

Topics:

  • What are fungi? | Chytrids and divergence from metazoa | Fungal phylogeny

Readings and Assignments

  • Study the lesson slides (link below)
  • Read James, et al., 2006
  • Read Webster & Weber: 1.1 | 1.5 | 6.1
  • Canvas quiz on readings (due before class Thursday)
  • Find and grow zygomycete fungi (Canvas assignment; video walkthrough below)
  • Get “Mr. Bloomfield’s Orchard” by Nicholas Money (LINK)
  • Slack discussion on readings (Thursday 11:15am)

Resources

Videos

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Week 2

Topics

  • The “hyphal lifestyle” | Fungal physiology | Zygomycetes | Reproduction in fungi

Readings and Assignments

  • Read Fisher, et al., 2018 (Have a phylogeny of Zygomycetes at the ready while you read this)
  • Read Webster & Weber: 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 7.1 | 7.2 | 7.3.1 | 7.3.2
  • Canvas quiz on readings (due before class Thursday)
  • Slack discussion on readings (Thursday 11:15am)
  • Turn in your Zygomycete photos (Canvas)

Resources

Videos

  • Generic Zygomycete life cycle video
  • Another life cycle video
  • Zygospore formation video
  • Hyphal types video (though she mispronounces “coenocytic” … it’s like “see - no - sit - ic”)
  • Mucor as a human pathogen video
  • Mucor as a model of Zygomycete anatomy video (ridiculous music warning)

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Week 3

Topics

  • Ascomycetes | Species concept in fungi | Anamorphs and Teleomorphs | Dikaryotism

Readings and Assignments

  • Read Webster & Weber: 8 | 10.2 | 12.1 | 12.2.1 | 17.2.6
  • Canvas quiz on readings (due before class Thursday)
  • Slack discussion on readings (Thursday 11:15am)
  • How many Ascomycete species exist? (Canvas assignment)

Resources

Videos

  • Good overview of Ascomycete characteristcs
  • Sordaria crossing over
  • How fungi helped us solve the central dogma of biology:
    • Part 1 (Why Neruospora crassa was the perfect model organism)
    • Part 2 (The famous Beadle and Tatum experiment)

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Week 4

Topics

  • Basidiomycetes

Readings and Assignments

  • Read Webster & Weber: 18 | 19.1 | 20.1 | 21.1 | 24.1
  • Canvas quiz on readings
  • Slack discussion on readings

Resources

  • [Major Topics]

Videos

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Week 5

Topics

  • Fungal development | Mushroom mechanics | Active dispersal | Mushroom ID

Readings and Assignments

  • Read Hammad, et al., 1993
  • Exam 1 (Covers material from weeks 1-4)
  • Fungal collections (5 types) and IDs

Resources

  • [Major Topics]

Videos

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Week 6

Topics

  • Medical mycology

Readings and Assignments

Resources

  • [Major Topics]

Videos

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Week 7

Topics

  • Plant pathogens

Readings and Assignments

Resources

  • [Major Topics]

Videos

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Week 8

Topics

  • Distribution and dispersal | Population ecology

Readings and Assignments

Resources

  • [Major Topics]

Videos

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Week 9

Topics

  • Symbioses: Endophytes

Readings and Assignments

  • Read Christian, et al., 2017
  • Read Money: Chapter 3
  • Exam 2 (Covers material from weeks 5-8)
    • Development
    • Pathology
    • Distribution

Resources

  • [Major Topics]

Videos

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Week 10

Topics

  • Symbioses: Mycorrhizae

Readings and Assignments

  • Read Money: Chapter 4

Resources

  • [Major Topics]

Videos

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Week 11

Topics

  • Symbioses: Lichens

Readings and Assignments

Resources

  • [Major Topics]

Videos

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Week 12

Topics

  • Fungi and ecosystems

Readings and Assignments

Resources

  • [Major Topics]

Videos

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Week 13

Topics

  • Ethnomycology

Readings and Assignments

  • Read Dugan, 2008
  • Read Money: Chapter 8-9
  • Exam 3 (Covers material from weeks 9-12)
    • Symbioses
    • Ecology

Resources

  • [Major Topics]

Videos

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Week 14

Thanksgiving Break









Week 15

Topics

  • Molecular mycology | Intro to fungal bioinformatics

Readings and Assignments

Resources

  • [Major Topics]

Videos

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Week 16

Topics

  • Wrap-up

Readings and Assignments

  • Start on Final Exam

Resources

  • [Main Topics]

Videos

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Final Exam

The final exam is project-based. You will design and illustrate a new fungal species, complete with a detailed life-cycle, physiology, ecology, etc. ?????????????????????

For the Final Exam schedule, click here